Discussion Topic

it is the politicians who glorify war, not the military with any experience of it

Don't be too sure. These days the generals and admirals must be clever politicians for advancement.

I served under Curtis Lemay for a couple of years. He tried his best to influence JFK to obliterate Cuba. Of course, in retrospect from what we know now [Soviet generals had been given permission to launch several nuclear-tipped missles] that might have been seen as the best strategy. It's good Kennedy's bluff worked. Liked JFK even though he involuntarily extended my tour of duty when the Berlin Wall went up.

If anyone was continuing to wonder, Sleeping Sam Hayakawa kicked the bucket in 1992. And in obscurity, I might add.

As far as his silly habit of wearing a Tam-O-Shanter, he said "it is a symbol of courage".

Let's recall his main thrust at first as President at SF State was to resist the notion that a program should be established for Ethnic Studies. The Panthers even got involved, which of course galvanized the white fear-based right in the exprected dialectic. But Sam relented, or shall we say, caved and soon the program was up and running and in no time the place was covered with people of all kinds of terrible colors.

It was a bad period for SF State under S.I.H. My father was Dean of the School of Education. Needless to say, he retired early because of S.I.H and his health was just starting to deteriorate. At the time his SS, Pers, and retirement seemed to have him covered! What a joke that became in a decade.

here's a bit on the Hayakawa BSU crisis at State from BITD: The Harvard Crimson, no less:

The sentence from that link's article that helps most for clearing the air about SF State is this:

"Murray, who in his spare time was Minister of Education for the local Black Panther chapter, had angered Reagan-appointed state college administrators by urging black students to carry guns and to guard themselves against local police."

The fact that Hayakawa's power play against the teachers failed due to good old fashioned sabotage by the people kind of reflects the whole era, what with the VC operating in a very similar, if more deadly, manner.

It might be well to point out that there were several "liberation armies" in the sixties and early seventies, not just the Third World LA, the People's Liberation Army (red) that defeated Chiang Kai-Shek and so on, but there were the Black Liberation Army (black) and the Symbionese LA that took little Patty (orange and black). Probably more I don't know of.

You be the judge. I was way too stoned when this came out to know good from studly. I think it's the latter, but understated.

"That's no mistake."--Fat Lembert

"He's not Jimmy."--Bear McCallum

Jimmy Smith's Wild Side is obivously more "This is my soul" than Al Kooper's work. And let's face it, the guitar on Supersession is not well-recorded, either. Stills may have been right when he said "farce." A bunch of super groups failed mightily. This tune was from the '62 Days of Wine & Roses.

Despite his popular appeal, McKuen's work has never been taken seriously by critics and academics or by much of the public. "...through the years his books have drawn uniformly unkind reviews. In fact, criticism of his poetry is uniformly vituperative..."

Guido, what's your take on McKuen? First of all, we can see he can't spell as well as you and your family. Second, I seriously doubt he ever led anything.

Did any of you you ever BUY one of his books or records for yourself? I know a lot of folks got Keane and McKuen junk as gifts. I call it junk. Some people calls it art. It sorta reflects the times from the viewpoint of Bank of America and White Front.

"Put McKuen's book in the bookcase over by The Little Bug-eyed Children painting, dear, next to that Stewart woman's books, dear."